clarity
by The People Speak
Summary: Archie Andrews makes Betty Cooper fuzzy inside. He's like a cloud in her brain that makes her happy. But, Jughead Jones makes everything clean, and sharp, and focused. These days, the clarity is much appreciated. OR the one where Betty loves everyone so much and deserves the best. [runs before and alongside canon to 1x07]


Love is a tentative, fluttering feeling that cannot be pinned in one place. It eludes those who pursue it and smothers those who hide from it. Just when one thinks they have grasped it, it spins away in another direction leaving a trail of breathless people in its wake.

* * *

Betty Cooper loves an awful lot for a girl as young as she is. Her heart is bigger than her body and her smile spreads joy to all those who see it. Her blonde hair is in pigtails with not a hair out of place and her pink sweater is worn over a white skirt with matching pink flats. She's spotless and bubbly and her mother would accept nothing less.

She's hardly wary of sitting next to the boy at the table. He has dark hair and a too big hat on, but she smiles at him anyways, and the friend that's seated with him. Archie grins at Betty with equal ferocity and they chatter back and forth, but Betty notices the third party stays suspiciously quiet. Her eyes drift to him, big and green, but he never looks her way.

Archie leaves to go to the bathroom briefly, and Betty props her elbows on the table. She cocks her head in the mysterious boy's direction and smiles at him again. He looks uncomfortable, but she just asks him for his name and birthday. He gives it and she beams in response.

Archie comes back and sees that Jughead Jones III, who has hardly opened up to him at all, is happily conversing with Elizabeth Cooper as if it is meant to be.

* * *

When she turns ten Archie tells her she looks beautiful and her heart skips a beat. He's cute, and wonderfully sweet, but ignorant. Betty beams at him. Best friends for six years and she loves him very much. She's not quite sure how, yet, but she looks at him in a way that makes her chest flutter and her mind fog, but he's Archie and still very much unattainable right now.

Jughead nods to her and says something vaguely interesting to Archie, but Betty ignores it. She slings an arm over each of her friend's shoulders and pulls them towards the school. The position is a touch awkward because Jughead is the tallest of the three, and Archie is the shortest, but they make it work.

Besides, Archie has promised that Jughead won't be taller for much long. For now, though, Jughead gets to tease Archie because he's one inch taller than him, and half an inch taller than Betty and she's half an inch taller than Archie. At ten years old, Betty is right in between her two best friends where she should be.

That night is a lecture from her mom from being out too late, but the taste of the milkshake from Pop's is still in her mouth, and Betty does not flinch. It's one imperfection, and it does not matter. When her parents start yelling that night, she just remembers the laughs she shared with her best friends that evening.

Polly sneaks into her room to give her one last treat and Betty smiles. She's ten years old with the best older sister, and two great friends, and parents who fight an awful lot. But still, Betty Cooper loves absolutely and undoubtedly. She loves her family and her friends, though maybe she loves Archie a little differently.

* * *

Betty is eleven and a half when she meets Reggie Mantle and Kevin Keller. It is not a day she thinks of too often, but she remembers feeling powerful. Because when she had walked into the room, Reggie had sprung back from Kevin like he was on fire, and the Sheriff's son had rubbed his shirt collar and stared at Betty like she was a goddess.

She had put her hands on her hips and scolded Reggie until his face turned red from embarrassment. She had made him apologise to Kevin and he had scurried away like his pants were on fire, averting his eyes from her like she was the sun.

That day, Betty had made another lifelong friend. Just because Kevin was different from Archie and Jughead, didn't mean she didn't love him any less. Besides, if nobody else at school was going to love his quirks, then Betty was going to love him twice as hard. She still does.

That night is also the night of Betty's first diary. It is pink with her name printed on the front and her mother presents it to her with a wide smile. She accepts it carefully and flips through the pages. Alice tells her daughter to write in it and write in it often. Betty thanks her mom and sets it on her bedside table.

* * *

It stays empty for another two weeks. The day she finally christens it is when she is walking home with Archie and Jughead, past the high school where Polly goes now, and she sees her sister with a boy. His hair is redder than Archie's, but he's smiling widely and excitedly at her sister. The three young friends just watch in awe as Polly kisses his cheek and waves goodbye, scurrying home with a big secret.

Jughead and Archie almost do not realise she is leaving, because they are too busy staring at Jason Blossom. They catch up quickly with their longer legs and they do not mention Polly and Jason the whole walk home. Betty swings her arms and studies the cracks in the road.

Jughead and Archie talk animatedly over her silence, and she listens, nodding and smiling in all the right places, but her mind is elsewhere. The boys do not really notice until it's Jughead's street to the right and Betty and Archie continue straight, waving goodbye.

When they get to their houses, side by side, Archie kicks at the dirt by the curb and looks at her. Betty smiles and he grins back. Her stomach flutters and Archie stares up at her house, his eyes finding Polly's window.

"What are you going to do about Polly and Jason?"

Betty shrugs. "It's Polly's choice. I don't intend to make it for her."

Archie nods and smiles at her one last time before he's running for his door and Betty's heading to hers.

That night she cracks the spine of her diary and picks up a pencil.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I saw Polly kissing Jason Blossom today._

* * *

Betty is thirteen when Kevin gives her his official diagnosis. He says she has a crush on Archie. At first, Betty is terrified because he's Archie and her best friend. Jughead's her best friend too, but he doesn't make her cloudy and fuzzy like Archie does, but that doesn't mean that Betty's okay with the whole crush business. It sounds painful.

Kevin just pokes her teasingly when Archie and Jughead arrive and Betty goes as pink as her headband. Neither of her longtime friends seems to notice and Betty's glad. Kevin says nothing, but he does glance between Betty and Archie every so often.

Age thirteen is also the first time that the younger Cooper sister clashes with the Blossom sister. Betty isn't even quite sure how it started, but she thinks Cheryl is a terrible person. She spouts of mean words and insults and juvenile phrases about Betty and Kevin and Archie and Jughead, and Betty runs away in tears.

She ends up near the basketball court, sitting on a bench with her knees tucked to her chest. She stays there and waits for one of her friends to find her. Betty imagines Kevin coming over and sympathising with her over his own experiences with bullying. Alternatively, she sees Archie finding her and putting an arm around her. She knows he would reassure her that he likes her just the way she is.

Instead of who she expects, Betty gets Jughead sitting down beside her without a word. She knows he's a little rough around the edges, and he's not the best with comforting people, but really, she's not surprised he has found her. Jughead always knows the best places to find quiet.

"Cheryl Blossom can go stuff her opinion somewhere else," he mutters.

Betty blinks at him. He looks mad and his hands are curled into fists on his lap. "Juggie," she starts, and he looks at her expectantly. "I hate her," Betty nearly spits, anger bubbling in her chest. For Betty Cooper, anger is a rarity, and Jughead arches a brow at her bold statement.

"Betts, you can't hate Cheryl. You can't hate anyone," he declares. Betty cracks a tiny smile and her fists uncoil. "Me on the other hand," Jughead muses, "I'm very good at hating people."

Jughead gets suspended and Cheryl misses school for a week, but Kevin and Archie swear that it was the most impressive punch they have ever seen a thirteen-year-old throw. Betty catches Jughead's eye on his first day back and he smiles at her. She laughs but smiles back.

* * *

When Betty is fourteen, Polly comes clean to their parents. Polly brought Betty into the room too, in hopes that their mom wouldn't yell, but Hal Cooper sends Betty away almost as soon as Polly starts talking. Betty catches her sister's eye on the way out and she sees the nervousness and dead-set determination. She blinks her big green eyes, but her mother shoos her away more quickly.

Betty camps on the stairs, just in range of the conversation, and listens. Surprisingly, Alice and Hal let Polly get through the whole story before they express their distaste. Her parents _hate_ Jason Blossom, and the fact that Polly and Jason are finally an official couple is a serious crime to them. The argument dissolves quickly into a shouting match and Betty flees up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, Polly sprints up the stairs, furious and sad at the same time. Betty's sister barges into her room and hugs her. The older Cooper sister trembles and Betty holds her tightly, slightly terrified. After a moment, Polly pulls away and kisses Betty on the head. She musters her best smile and leaves, but not before reminding Betty that their parents don't control them.

Betty falls back on her bed and sighs heavily. Her phone buzzes on her table and she picks it up. Archie has texted her, and a quick glance out her window reveals that he's staring across the gap at her, concern knitting his brow. Betty smiles at him and opens his text.

 _Everything okay? –A_

 _All good! Just some girl stuff. –B_

 _U sure? –A_

 _Archie, it's fine, I promise. –B_

 _Ok, ok –A_

 _Are you, me and Jug still on for shakes at Pop's tomorrow? –B_

 _Jug cancelled. Says he has to stay home and look after Jellybean. –A_

 _Should we go keep him company? –B_

 _No. He's fine. Just invite Kevin instead. –A_

 _Are you okay, Archie? –B_

 _I'm fine, Betty. Good night. See you tomorrow. –A_

Betty doesn't reply and she glances up at Archie, concern furrowing her brow. Her friend just turns his back on the window before drawing the curtains shut, a clear indication of a completed conversation. Betty sighs. Archie is her best friend, undoubtedly, but he's been acting a little weird sometimes, especially relating to Jughead. Betty's other friend has also been staying home a lot more and cancelling on their plans, even if it involves milkshakes and burgers at Pop's.

Betty opens a message to Jughead, asking if he wants some company babysitting Jellybean tomorrow, but it sounds pushy, especially after Archie dismissed the idea, so she deletes the text. Instead, she texts Kevin, telling him that she and Archie are going for shakes alone tomorrow. Kevin gets excited far too quickly and reminds her to dress her best.

* * *

The summer between freshman and sophomore years is a major milestone. Betty is sick of the fighting between her mom and her sister and her mom's suffocating pressure to be perfect. Her grades are straight A's, and she never misses curfew. She's not quite sure what else she's supposed to do to please Alice Cooper, but her mom never lets up.

So Betty accepts the summer work in Boston and escapes from Riverdale. She's reluctant to leave Polly, and Kevin, and Archie, but they talk her into it. Archie and Kevin swing by the day before she leaves individually and bid her goodbye, promising to keep her updated on stuff. She wonders if Jughead will show, but it becomes clear soon enough that he has no intentions of coming.

Betty isn't sure what she's done, if anything, to upset her friend, but he's been freezing her out. A lot of it comes from Jughead's naturally withdrawn nature, but the last few times she's been in the same place as him and Archie, there has been a certain spike in animosity that she doesn't really understand. The boys are supposed to go on a camping trip while she's gone, and Betty hopes that everything will be smoothed over by the time she gets back.

Riverdale is a small town, and Betty doesn't think it's possible for it to change too much in the two months she'll be gone. But, Betty Cooper is an optimist and the clouds that cover Riverdale are a lot darker and more pessimistic than she is expecting.

By the time she gets back, Jughead and Archie have stopped talking altogether, Archie got really hot, Polly is gone, and Jason Blossom has died.

* * *

Veronica Lodge hits Riverdale like a hurricane. Similarly, Betty Cooper is easily swept into her. Veronica has a sly smile and a beautiful face, and Betty already knows that she's going to be exactly like Cheryl Blossom. She befriends her, for Archie's sake, and because Veronica _seems_ nice enough.

And Archie is still being Archie and Betty loves him for it. He's writing music now and Betty is transfixed by his voice. It is as beautiful as the rest of him and his songs are touching and a little chaotic, but wonderful. Veronica catches on quickly, praising Archie and casting Betty sly looks. Kevin is excited at the prospect of teaming up with Veronica because the girl from New York knows a lot more about boys than anyone in the small town, even Cheryl Blossom.

Betty starts to respect Veronica when she suggests the two of them join the cheerleading squad. Veronica assures Betty that Cheryl won't be able to resist taking them for the squad no matter how awful she is. Betty isn't quite sure that Veronica knows how bad Cheryl can be. Yet, watching the two girls tangle at the tryouts has Betty transfixed and also partly because Veronica kissed her and she's standing there like an idiot. Still, the ice wins out and Betty and Veronica are cheerleaders and Cheryl Blossom has _lost_.

Following that success, Homecoming is a disaster. Somehow, Veronica talked Betty into asking Archie, only for her to drag Veronica along as a third wheel anyway. Then, Betty finally comes clean to Archie, after years of pining, and he rebuffs her. She is mortified. Veronica vows to make him realise what he's missing.

That night, Betty's prediction comes true because not only does Veronica turn on her, but Cheryl Blossom never loses for long.

Not even Archie's puppy-dog eyes can salvage her feelings and for once, Betty Cooper can't find it in her to love anyone.

* * *

Veronica does redeem herself and Betty is glad she does because she likes her. Despite her mother's best efforts, Veronica wins Betty over and B&V officially bury the bad blood. Over milkshakes at Pop's Betty finds herself spilling the history of her Riverdale to the newcomer and Veronica listens patiently, chipping in her two cents.

Betty recounts stories of her family, and of Archie and Jughead, and Kevin, and Cheryl, and even of Jason Blossom. Veronica compares them to her favourite TV dramas and promises that neither of them will let any boy, not even Archie Andrews, come between them. Betty affirms her promise, but something in her chest stings because she's still in the fog of her feelings for Archie.

As a new story comes to mind, the fog thickens and Archie Andrews appears at the door of Pop's. To Betty's surprise, Jughead is at his side. She smiles tentatively at her old friend, and affection sparks through Jughead's eyes. The Archie-fog around Betty's mind clears up and she flicks her gaze to Archie.

"Would you like to join us?" she offers.

Archie smiles and Jughead smirks, striding towards them. Jughead makes a joke in regards to the brokenness of teenagers, and Betty laughs because she'll never say no to feeding him when he asks like that. Jughead passes her and climbs behind Veronica, slipping into the booth across from her and Betty slides over to make room for Archie,

Betty and Archie's legs brush accidentally, but for once, she doesn't feel the spark because Jughead's eyes have still drawn her in, and the silly smile on her face doesn't waver as Jughead and Veronica are formerly introduced to each other. At that moment, as Archie slings a friendly arm over her shoulder, Betty wishes Kevin was with them, and that Polly could be there too.

* * *

Betty asks Jughead to work with her on the Blue and Gold. She knows he writes because he was always writing or reading as a kid, and she knows that he's writing a book about Jason Blossom's murder because of Archie. She clasps her hands in front of her and pleads with him. He's one of her best friends, and though a little bit of a loose cannon at times, she trusts him.

He agrees and Betty smiles. Their investigation begins and Jughead sticks around a little more often. They sit side-by-side at the lunch table and he steals from her lunch. It feels like the good old days, and Betty's mind is at peace. She's proving her mother wrong, and it feels incredibly good. Because Betty Cooper is not trying to be perfect for other people anymore, and the smiles she wrangles from Jughead for her efforts do not go unnoticed.

Around him, she feels good. Her mind is clear and sharp and they get work done. Their investigation quickly makes equal headway to the Sheriff's, and their own visual representation, dubbed the murder board by Jughead, is far more detailed. Soon enough, Betty finds herself spending almost more time with Jughead in the Blue and Gold office than with Veronica or Kevin or Archie combined.

It doesn't go unnoticed by her mother either, but Betty is growing her backbone. This is something that she loves, and her overbearing, overprotective mother will not ruin this for her. She is her own woman, and in the words of her wise sister, her mother does not control her.

* * *

Polly is pregnant and Betty is even more convinced that her mother is a monster. It took long enough for Betty and Jughead to find Polly, only for her mother to tear Betty away from her sister because the Coopers are _ashamed_ that Polly is pregnant with Jason's baby. Her mother drags her away from the facilities of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, and Jughead tails them insistently. Betty is pushed towards the car, and the raw fury on her mother's face is not an image she likes to keep.

Betty tries to convince her mother to drive Jughead home too, but she curls a lip at Betty's friend and drives away, leaving him alone in the parking lot to take the bus home. Alice Cooper doesn't say a word the whole drive home, and Betty's courage deserts her. She tucks her chin to her chest and tries not to cry because today has happened all too fast. Some part in the back of her mind needles that she won't be able to see Archie and Veronica perform in the variety show and she's ashamed, but worry for Polly, and a tiny bit for Jughead, overshadows it.

Alice drags her up to her room and Hal appears in the doorway, sealing the family in the room. Betty absorbs the lecture, but some of her courage comes back. She spits fire at her parents too, but in the end, they win and leave her alone in her room like some trapped damsel waiting for rescue. It's a startling realisation, but Betty is not sure she's ever felt less love for her parents than this moment.

Fortunately, she's not alone for long because Jughead's on top of a ladder outside her window, tapping lightly on the glass. She laughs and the sadness in her mind is chased away as she lets him in. He makes a Shakespeare reference, and Betty's mind flashes momentarily to something Veronica had said, but she chases the thought away.

She rants to Jughead, expresses her darkest thoughts and waits for him to remind her that she's the perfect girl, and can't hate anyone like he has in the past, but instead, his hand lands on her shoulder and he's comforting her, promising they're all as crazy as she fears she is. A laugh escapes from her and she smiles hesitantly.

This is Jughead, and he's standing so close and he looks more vulnerable than he ever has before. But Betty's mind is clear and she's not thinking of Archie when his voice catches. Her eyes flicker to his bobbing Adam's apple and he looks strangely uncomfortable.

"What?" she asks curiously. He's studying her face intently, and Betty's not uncomfortable, just curious. His gaze flickers down from her eyes towards her lips and she smiles in her confusion. "What?"

And then his hands are cupping her face and his lips are on his and she can barely breathe, but it feels so right. Electricity hums through her veins and Betty's hand lands on his cheek. Jughead Jones III is kissing her and it feels foreign and perfect at the same time because she had always associated the fluttery feeling in her stomach with Archie Andrews, not Jughead.

When he pulls away, the space between them is small and her lips curl unintentionally into a smile. He lets out a shuddering sigh, but he looks content too. For the first time in a long time, her mind is quiet and her worries have been suffocated because all she can see is Jughead standing in front of her.

Then lightning strikes and she gasps, pulling away. She knows. Jughead looks concerned for a split second before Betty's smile lights up her whole face and his concern warps to confusion. Even for just a moment, the clarity of her mind had revealed exactly what she had needed it to.

"The car!" she exclaims excitedly.

Jughead laughs and makes a quip, and Betty's heart flutters. Unlike with Archie, the fog doesn't wrap around her and the world doesn't grow fuzzy. Rather, the few tiny freckles on Jughead's face leap out at her and the whole world stays in high definition. Betty is buzzing.

* * *

The chaos of the next couple hours overwhelms her. Betty forgets all about the Variety Show until she and Jughead burst into the school looking for the Sheriff and she hears Archie's smooth vocals over the PA system. On the way out, her eyes snap to it, but she clings to the clarity of her mind and pursues Jughead and Sheriff Keller out the door–leaving Archie behind.

The car is in flames and Betty's heart sinks, but she knows that now she really needs to get to Polly. Jughead comes with her, as usual, and this time she doesn't pause at the reception desk, sprinting straight for Polly's room. In a startlingly frightening scene, Betty sees the empty room of her sister and the broken window and the blood.

Her anxiety swells and panic wells up in her chest and despite the lack of cloudiness in her brain, she's suddenly drowning. Jughead's arms wrap around her and he pulls her away, holding her until her breathing settles and her heartrate calms to almost a normal rate. His hands run across her shoulders and her fingers splay over his back, anchoring herself to reality.

Their laboured breathing settles and through the fear for Polly, Betty feels a spark of affection, of love, run through her and she clings a little tighter.

* * *

After her parents reveal Polly's state to the whole town and the Cooper family is bombarded with questions, Jughead walks Betty home in the rain. Their linked hands swing between them as she tells him about the first time that Polly ran away. The fond memory brings a smile to her face, and Jughead develops a matching one.

A similar burst of affection to the one she felt at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy bubbles through her chest, and as they reach her house, a thundering realisation hits Betty. She stops dead in her tracks, and cuts off her story, leaving Jughead hanging. She turns to him, detangling their hands and takes a deep breath.

"What?" he asks, concern and curiosity filling his green eyes. Betty almost laughs at the mirroring of the situation, but she takes his face in her hands and kisses him firmly.

She pulls away and tucks away the memory of Jughead's content expression. "Thank you for walking me home. I'll call you later. Goodnight!" She turns and runs towards her house.

Jughead Jones brings Betty blinding realisations and one of these days, she'll tell him and be able to kiss him without running away.

* * *

 **Because this show is killing me with the hiatus. Check me out on tumblr -** nicolewrites **\- and check back for more Riverdale soon maybe...**

 **-Nicole**


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